Dissappointed with rides at MK

[hammertime]

So I just got back from my first trip to WDW. Have to say that I was dissappointed by my favorite rides, POTC, Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan. Now you must be thinking if this is your first trip to WDW how can you have favorite rides? Well I live in CA so we go to Disneyland all the time. I was expecting the rides to be the same instead they were different. POTC and Small world were the biggest dissapointments. We ended up spending most of our time at all the other parks because they had all new stuff to us and weren't nearly as crowded.

After talking to a few people in line they said that they heard the same complaint from frequent visitors to MK when they go to Disneyland. Wandering if anyone has had the same or opposite experience as me? I think it comes down to what were used to and what we grew up on.

Just a note - Loved Mickey's Philharmagic and Buzzlightyear (they don't have those rides in Disneyworld) and it was fun to ride the Transit authority ride and Carousel of Progress (they're both have been long gone from Disneyland)

 

[Lucky4me]

Could you elaborate on the differences between the rides in Dl and WDW?

I'm curious.

 

[chamonix]

Well, I can definitely say there are things that I love about Disneyland that they either just don't have at WDW, or it is different at WDW and better at DL. POTC comes to mind, it *is* so much more wonderful at DL when you begin by gliding through the Blue Bayou with the fireflies in the trees...and I love Dumbo with water underneath it. Why would they not do that at MK? I like the Teacups at DL better since they are not covered by a roof, they are sunken down under some big beautiful trees(lots of WDW is covered unlike in sunny-no-rain So Cal) I miss the Alice in Wonderland ride, and let me just say that I have no idea why the best ride ever created is *only* at DL--Indiana Jones--need I say more?! Oh, and you haven't seen Fantasmic until you have seen it on the river in the middle of Disneyland instead of in a theater! (and I like the Peter Pan storyline better than the Pocahontas one)
Now, all that complainin' aside--I would *not* say that WDW "disappoints" me--it is just different. I don't expect it to be the same. In fact, I love that it is different. Of course, it has so much that DL does not have too. We could go on about that for quite awhile! LOL
I guess what I am trying to say is, yes, it is different, and certainly some things are better at Disneyland--but WDW has so much to offer that DL doesn't have. I try to focus on the positive and try not to miss the larger and more funToontown area at Disneyland, or dd's favorite, the Casey Jr ride...oh and hello! Matterhorn Bobsleds! I love that ride! New Orleans square, Walt's apartment, Club 33....the way Small World looks on the outside....yep, it is different....

 

[Kallison]

Only been to DL once 11 years ago. My memory is that it was in a congested area but the overall themeing was more dramatic than WDW. Don't forget it is the original and Walt's dream, he had hands on there. I do recall the rides you mention just being a tad bit more magical in DL.

 

[hammertime]

For POTC there were big differences. In Disneyland the first part of the ride is going through a swamp like view with a little house and an old man sitting in a rocking chair rocking back and forth, cricket sounds and a stary ski. The you hit total darkness, you hear the warning from the pirate saying there are "rough waters ahead" and then theres a drop similar to that at WDW. Then the second message of "Deadman tell no tales" message is being said and there is another bigger drop. Not really big but if you sit on the outside of boat you might get splashed a little bit. The other differences I noted were that the pirate during the fight scene didn't say " you bloom'im cockroaches" instead he said something about "land lovers". For the most part the scenes in the town are pretty much the same. At the end of the ride the scene at WDW where the man is all tied up while the pirates are taking the gold isn't at Disneyland at all. At the very end of the ride there is a a couple of pirates that are shooting at each other, in Disneyland, They are shooting accross the boat and hanging above you is a barrel. When the pirate shoots it "misses" and hits the rope to the barrel and it kind of lowers a little bit over the boat. Just a little bit more exciting. I think the DVD to POTC on the second disc it shows the ride at Disneyland.

Haunted Mansion was different on the outside. Have to say I like the house itself different than the one at Disneyland but the outside set up is much better there's more head stones. My DH noticed more differences here. The biggest one I noticed is that the part when Lota tells the spirits to ring the bell there was no ringing sound. Could have been broken.

Smallworld - We actually didn't go on this ride. What was different was the outside. At WDW it is tucke away and just looks like another ride. In Disneyland it's the biggest building in Fantasyland your attention is drawn to it. The front is a giant clock that has all kinds of things going on with it. I think every 15 minutes the clock chimes and little boys and girls (animitronic) in their world outfits come out and dance around - like a cook coo clock.

Peter pan - Just seemed different but can't put my finger on it. I don't think it has as much animitronics in it at Disneyland.

Big Thunder Railroad - the only different I noticed was the white gysers. They don't have that at all in Disneyland.

Didn't go any any other rides to compare decided to spend our times on rides that we couldn't see back home.

Hope this helps.

 

[MamaKate]

I go to Disneyland at least once a week and I agree Disneyland's POC is better, but I don't agree w/ Peter Pan. Peter Pan at WDW is longer and has more to see (and it's special to me because my son got to ride the Peter Pan ride w/Peter Pan!!).

I agree with chamonix that they both are special and different in their own way. But everytime I go to WDW I can't wait to get to the MK !

Even though I go to Disneyland all the time, I still don't get bored at the MK.

 

[hammertime]

I had a great time at WDW after are first few hours in MK we decided to spend our time in the other parks where it was all new. Kind of funny the Dinosour ride is very similar to Indian Jones in Disneyland so I can see why they haven't put that ride in at WDW. The Indian Jones stunt show was spectacular one of the many highlights. I would say AK and MGM were my favorite parks and Dh would say that EPCOT was a highlight.

 

[katrina1122]

but I too noticed many differences. The main thing was how incredibly CROWDED it was. You couldn't get on anything. I complained to a cm about it and he just laughed and said that it was the emptiest the park had been in 3 months! My friend and I were shocked. Now this was before the other park opened so maybe the crowds are better now, but I vowed to never go back because of it, it was misearable. Beyond that, I loved Indiana Jones, the Matterhorn, and the themeing of the park just seems more elaborate than that of wdw mk. I don't remember peter pan being different, but that may be because we never got on it. Small world building was really amazing on the outside as someone else explained, and the haunted mansion on the outside was more impressive, plus the land its in is prettier.
Now that dl is bigger I might consider returning, but I did leave that day with a frustrated feeling, although don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the rides we made it on, I just think the park is more compact and you can really feel it.

 

[eeyore0062]

The way I see it, is if everything were the same in both Disneyland and WDW, why would anyone have a reason to visit both.

We have only been to WDW, but hope to visit DL and DCA next year. I am sure that there will be comparisons, but I think we just have to appreciate all of the parks for what they are!

 

[meeko_33785]

To me, I think it's kind of pointless to complain that something at WDW is not exactly like it's DL counterpart (or TDL or DLP counterpoing for that matter). It just seems to me that when you're at a Disney park, you're on vacation and enjoying youself and that attractions should be enjoyed for what they are, not lamented for what they're not. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's what I think.

 

[ekmdisney]

I have to say that I do enjoy DL's POTC ride more that the one at WDW, and I am a WDW regular. But POTC and HM are my top two must every time I go to the park.

If you would like to see a video of the DL one go here:

http://disneylandsource.com/main/explore.html

Go under NOS and you will be able to down load the video and audio of the ride.

Plus you can take a look at some video of the other rides, that WDW has and see some of the differences. I just love this site!

 

[undertheradar]

My family and I moved to SOCAL last Dec.(2002). We have been to DL once. My 5yo DD was most amazed at how little the Castle is at DL. We had to explain to her that since it is very crowded around DL, the princesses had to share space.

 

[mtdevine615]

It's not just different in DL and WDW. There are differeces in all the parks. The HM is different in DL Paris, and there are many other differences also. I agree if it was the same everywhere why bother going to different parks. For me WDW is a resort where you can go for a week or two and still not see everything. I would never even consider going to DL or DLP for two weeks, there's just not enough to do.

 

[MissMagnolia]

Hammertime,
Just have to say that your comment about the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland is right on!!!

I LOVE that ride - one of the very best. I keep hoping that WDW will duplicate it like they have with some other all time favorites. With the Indiana Jones show at MGM, I doubt it though .

 

[cleo]

I had the opposite experience. Being a regular at WDW, I was thrilled at the differences in the attractions. I'm sure the Imagineers come up with many versions of each attraction, and it's fun to see that they didn't have to settle for one version but were able to create two different (although only slightly different) attractions with the same theme.

Disneyland certainly has an much more peaceful, settled, mature feel to it that adds to the uniqueness of the experience, whereas WDW is more 'in your face', not quite settled into it's own yet. For me, that makes each of them exciting and I'm glad the attractions reflect the difference in the parks.

 

[daannzzz]

After going to Disneyland all my life when I finally got to WDW in 1996 I really loved all the differences...well in general. I didn't like that Pirates was shorter but there was an interesting scene at the end that is not in Disneyland. I like the Haunted Mansion on the outside and how some of the stuff we see walking down the hallway to load at disneyland is actaully on the ride portion at WDW. I was surprised to find that as you walk up to Peter Pan you see that the boats never stop moving and you load onto them via a moving sidewalk. The interior of Peter Pan was not as pretty or updated but it was a longer ride.
Each attraction had something different that made it interesting to compare, sometimes better sometimes not but allways still fun.

 

[dgaston]

And Splash at WDW is better than Splash at DL.

 

[DisneyJules]

I had the opposite happen. I grew up going to Walt Disney World and just a few years ago my family decided to head out to Disneyland in California. The park wasn't at all the same. It felt as if it were lacking that magical feeling I get at WDW. But I think perhaps its because I link WDW with my childhood and have such awesome memories. Disneyland was still neat because of the nostalgic factor but I found it lacked greenery and other elements to make it a aesthetically pleasing to the eye. But I can totally understand where you're coming from. I did find rides such as It's a Small World and Pirates of the Carribean to be much more elaborate than the ones at WDW.

 

[hammertime]

I knew this would be along thread. I think the reason I was so disappointed with MK was that I wasn't expecting such a difference. So when I went on my favorite ride from DL and it was missing my favorite parts a little of the magic of MK kind of vanished. Though after that I did start to look for differences and go oh that's neat. I think the other problem we had was that it was SOOOOO crowded that after our disappointment we just headed back to less crowded parks.

Splash mountain did look like it was a better ride
(even the logs were different)than DL but never got to go on it.

I think we would have spent more time and enjoyed it more at MK if it wasn't so crowded. Crowds take the magic out quicker than a ride that is different.

As I said in another thread I will go back but never the week between Xmas and New Years(Just too insane).

The Resorts at WDW way outshine the resorts at DL. We never stay onsite at DL(not worth the extra money) but I loved POR and the other resorts looked cool (and worth the extra money) at WDW

 

[Tinkbell]

I went to DL when I was 8 years old. I loved the POTC ride! I do remember missing that bayou scene and the 2 drops the first time I went to WDW. Don't get me wrong, I love WDW's version. DL's is just a little bit better.